How to Find the Best Stock Image
for An Online Marketing Campaign

When used correctly, stock photos can bring your ads, blog post, and content to life.

Why use stock photos?

You can get free stock photos from many sites or sources at economical prices

It has been found that stock photos can outperform custom designed images regarding reach and engagement

Images are powerful

By now it is no secret that pictures are powerful when it comes to boosting engagement and drawing attention.

Facebook posts with images receive two-thirds more engagement than those without images

Tweets with images receive more than 130% retweets than tweets without images.

The images will not only boost the performance of your content but can affect your business’s bottom line immensely by influencing purchasing decisions.

For entrepreneurs with online stores, you need to know that when marketing to millennials, visual pieces like photography and creative assets play a significant role in converting that generation. Visual platforms such as snap chat, Instagram, and Youtube are highly influential in shopping.

The above translates to a simple fact: people are sharing images more than ever, and these images have become a key factor in consumers deciding to buy or not.

In today’s world images are not a distraction to a message; images have emerged as the message.

Authenticity in stock photos is vital

We visit social media to see the lives of friends, acquaintances, and our favorite brands primarily because the shots there are authentic and say a lot about the object in question.

The problem with most stock photos is that they lack authenticity. These photos fail to connect with your audience simply because they are not authentic or relatable.

It is imperative that you develop an eye for picking stock photos that are real and speak authenticity to your audience.

How to spot an authentic image

1. Look for real everyday people in your stock photos

It can be obvious if persons on your stock photos are models.

When choosing an image that will work for your cause, you want one that has real set ups and subjects that reveal character.

2. Check out natural poses

Identify images where the subject does not look like they are posing or their stance is staged. It is hard for any of us to be sitting upright and wearing a smile all day at the office. You will find most stock shots with a generic trait like this lack authenticity.

How to select the perfect stock image

You must have in mind that most of the already existing images were taken to fit a range of situations. This can be both good and bad. For a marketing campaign or any project, you want pictures that will make you stand out from the crowd.

It takes considerable planning in choosing the right image. Here are few tips on how to select the perfect stock photo for your project

1. Have your audience in mind

Strive to know your audience in depth. When it comes to selecting an image while having them in mind, you will most often identify an image that resonates with your audience entirely.

2. Scour several sources for the right image

Checking out several sources and comparing images will enable you to select the one with the most impact. Sources can vary to include Unsplash, Morgufile or Pixabay.

3. Use images that compliment your content

Your choice of images should blend in with your content and not seem out of place or unrelated to the messaging. A careful and intuitive selection should compliment your content and accentuate the message all the more making it actionable to your audience. For instance, if you have a love website, you can check love images to download with Shopify!

Conclusion

Much goes into selecting the best-suited image for your projects. The ability to spot the right one is the main denominator that sets your project apart from the crowd and resonates powerfully with your audience.